Published: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 6:24 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 6:27 p.m.

Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin spoke out Wednesday against two proposed pieces of firearms legislation, echoing the sentiments of the Alabama Sheriffs’ Association.

The bills, Senate Bill 129 and House Bill 55, would make Alabama a “shall-issue state” for concealed carry permits and would greatly expand open carry laws.

They also would also expand carrying rights to public events and demonstrations, and penalize businesses that bar people from entering or ask them to leave if they are carrying a firearm.

“The sheriffs know who (needs) to have guns and don’t need to have guns in their county,” Entrekin said. “And these bills they’re proposing out here, they take away the sheriff’s discretion on issuing pistol permits. It’s just a real bad piece of legislation.”

The Alabama Sheriffs’ Association released a statement outlining why it opposes the bills and held a press conference Wednesday in Birmingham to discuss the issue.

Its statement was similar to Entrekin’s comments, insisting local officials should retain control of gun laws and that their discretion is a valuable tool.

Entrekin said he is a Second Amendment rights supporter and an avid gun collector, but his support ends when it reaches the point where it endangers him, his deputies and the public. He said allowing people to carry weapons at demonstrations would do just that.

“To me, that’s ludicrous,” he said.

Entrekin said expanding the issuing of concealed carry permits is unnecessary. He said he denies very few pistol permit applications because the people who apply for them generally are law-abiding citizens. However, the proposed bills would eliminate much of the discretion allowed under current laws.

Entrekin said he recently denied a permit to a man who had been arrested four times, but not convicted, on domestic violence charges. Under the proposed law, he would have had to issue the man a pistol permit.

“That (the arrests) tells me that he has a potential for violence,” he said. “He’s a wife beater and I’m not going to give one to him. His wife is scared to death to come to court to testify against him.”

The Alabama Sheriffs’ Association said the proposed legislation would put into law unreasonable penalties for public officials attempting to perform their duties. It contends the legislation would take away the rights of private property owners to control their property or places of business, and organizations such as places of worship would no longer have control over firearms being brought into their buildings and properties. It also would take away the authority of local government to protect public buildings such as schools and courthouses, allow extremist organizations to come armed to public demonstrations and make it easier for criminals to obtained concealed pistol permits.

Entrekin said he hopes the bills will be killed in the Legislature, and believes now that the state’s sheriffs have come out against it, others will too.

He said he also is against any legislation opposing the enforcement of federal gun laws. “If the federal (government) needs to come in and enforce a law,” he said, “we support them in being able to enforce any laws that they need to.”

Entrekin said he believes these bills propose changes that hurt rather than help.

“I hate what happened in Sandy Hook, I hate what happens anywhere else,” he said. “But realistically, this law is not going to change that (from) happening.”

<p>Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin spoke out Wednesday against two proposed pieces of firearms legislation, echoing the sentiments of the Alabama Sheriffs' Association.</p><p>The bills, Senate Bill 129 and House Bill 55, would make Alabama a “shall-issue state” for concealed carry permits and would greatly expand open carry laws.</p><p>They also would also expand carrying rights to public events and demonstrations, and penalize businesses that bar people from entering or ask them to leave if they are carrying a firearm.</p><p>“The sheriffs know who (needs) to have guns and don't need to have guns in their county,” Entrekin said. “And these bills they're proposing out here, they take away the sheriff's discretion on issuing pistol permits. It's just a real bad piece of legislation.”</p><p>The Alabama Sheriffs' Association released a statement outlining why it opposes the bills and held a press conference Wednesday in Birmingham to discuss the issue.</p><p>Its statement was similar to Entrekin's comments, insisting local officials should retain control of gun laws and that their discretion is a valuable tool.</p><p>Entrekin said he is a Second Amendment rights supporter and an avid gun collector, but his support ends when it reaches the point where it endangers him, his deputies and the public. He said allowing people to carry weapons at demonstrations would do just that.</p><p>“To me, that's ludicrous,” he said.</p><p>Entrekin said expanding the issuing of concealed carry permits is unnecessary. He said he denies very few pistol permit applications because the people who apply for them generally are law-abiding citizens. However, the proposed bills would eliminate much of the discretion allowed under current laws.</p><p>Entrekin said he recently denied a permit to a man who had been arrested four times, but not convicted, on domestic violence charges. Under the proposed law, he would have had to issue the man a pistol permit.</p><p>“That (the arrests) tells me that he has a potential for violence,” he said. “He's a wife beater and I'm not going to give one to him. His wife is scared to death to come to court to testify against him.”</p><p>The Alabama Sheriffs' Association said the proposed legislation would put into law unreasonable penalties for public officials attempting to perform their duties. It contends the legislation would take away the rights of private property owners to control their property or places of business, and organizations such as places of worship would no longer have control over firearms being brought into their buildings and properties. It also would take away the authority of local government to protect public buildings such as schools and courthouses, allow extremist organizations to come armed to public demonstrations and make it easier for criminals to obtained concealed pistol permits.</p><p>Entrekin said he hopes the bills will be killed in the Legislature, and believes now that the state's sheriffs have come out against it, others will too.</p><p>He said he also is against any legislation opposing the enforcement of federal gun laws. “If the federal (government) needs to come in and enforce a law,” he said, “we support them in being able to enforce any laws that they need to.”</p><p>Entrekin said he believes these bills propose changes that hurt rather than help.</p><p>“I hate what happened in Sandy Hook, I hate what happens anywhere else,” he said. “But realistically, this law is not going to change that (from) happening.”</p>